Keep experts in the family

Keep experts in the familyWeighing in to a year-long debate over how to best appoint expert witnesses, the Law Council of Australia (LCA) has urged the Family Court to abandon plans to restrict

Keep experts in the family

Weighing in to a year-long debate over how to best appoint expert witnesses, the Law Council of Australia (LCA) has urged the Family Court to abandon plans to restrict expert testimonies.

President Bob Gotterson QC said any scaling down would restrict the rights of litigants to call relevant expert evidence, and require litigants to disclose confidential communications with experts.

“The proposals counter fundamental principles of the law of evidence. Giving judges powers to exclude relevant evidence and to appoint a single expert would damage public confidence in the courts,” he added.

Further, the Family Court’s impressive 94 per cent settlement rate would be jeopardised by the plan, Gotterson said.

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